Revert "codegen: Don't emit g_type_add_instance_private() in *_register_type()"

[vala-gnome.git] / vala / valamemberaccess.vala

/* valamemberaccess.vala
 *
 * Copyright (C) 2006-2012  Jürg Billeter
 *
 * This library is free software; you can redistribute it and/or
 * modify it under the terms of the GNU Lesser General Public
 * License as published by the Free Software Foundation; either
 * version 2.1 of the License, or (at your option) any later version.

 * This library is distributed in the hope that it will be useful,
 * but WITHOUT ANY WARRANTY; without even the implied warranty of
 * MERCHANTABILITY or FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE.  See the GNU
 * Lesser General Public License for more details.

 * You should have received a copy of the GNU Lesser General Public
 * License along with this library; if not, write to the Free Software
 * Foundation, Inc., 51 Franklin Street, Fifth Floor, Boston, MA 02110-1301  USA
 *
 * Author:
 *      Jürg Billeter <j@bitron.ch>
 */

using GLib;

/**
 * Represents an access to a type member in the source code.
 */
public class Vala.MemberAccess : Expression {
        /**
         * The parent of the member.
         */
        public Expression? inner {
                get {
                        return _inner;
                }
                set {
                        _inner = value;
                        if (_inner != null) {
                                _inner.parent_node = this;
                        }
                }
        }

        /**
         * The name of the member.
         */
        public string member_name { get; set; }

        /**
         * Pointer member access.
         */
        public bool pointer_member_access { get; set; }

        /**
         * Represents access to an instance member without an actual instance,
         * e.g. `MyClass.an_instance_method`.
         */
        public bool prototype_access { get; set; }

        /**
         * Specifies whether the member is used for object creation.
         */
        public bool creation_member { get; set; }

        /**
         * Qualified access to global symbol.
         */
        public bool qualified { get; set; }

        private Expression? _inner;
        private List<DataType> type_argument_list = new ArrayList<DataType> ();

        /**
         * Creates a new member access expression.
         *
         * @param inner            parent of the member
         * @param member_name      member name
         * @param source_reference reference to source code
         * @return                 newly created member access expression
         */
        public MemberAccess (Expression? inner, string member_name, SourceReference? source_reference = null) {
                this.inner = inner;
                this.member_name = member_name;
                this.source_reference = source_reference;
        }

        public MemberAccess.simple (string member_name, SourceReference? source_reference = null) {
                this.member_name = member_name;
                this.source_reference = source_reference;
        }

        public MemberAccess.pointer (Expression inner, string member_name, SourceReference? source_reference = null) {
                this.inner = inner;
                this.member_name = member_name;
                this.source_reference = source_reference;
                pointer_member_access = true;
        }

        /**
         * Appends the specified type as generic type argument.
         *
         * @param arg a type reference
         */
        public void add_type_argument (DataType arg) {
                type_argument_list.add (arg);
                arg.parent_node = this;
        }

        /**
         * Returns a copy of the list of generic type arguments.
         *
         * @return type argument list
         */
        public List<DataType> get_type_arguments () {
                return type_argument_list;
        }

        public override void accept (CodeVisitor visitor) {
                visitor.visit_member_access (this);

                visitor.visit_expression (this);
        }

        public override void accept_children (CodeVisitor visitor) {
                if (inner != null) {
                        inner.accept (visitor);
                }

                foreach (DataType type_arg in type_argument_list) {
                        type_arg.accept (visitor);
                }
        }

        public override string to_string () {
                if (symbol_reference == null || symbol_reference.is_instance_member ()) {
                        if (inner == null) {
                                return member_name;
                        } else {
                                return "%s.%s".printf (inner.to_string (), member_name);
                        }
                } else {
                        // ensure to always use fully-qualified name
                        // to refer to static members
                        return symbol_reference.get_full_name ();
                }
        }

        public override void replace_expression (Expression old_node, Expression new_node) {
                if (inner == old_node) {
                        inner = new_node;
                }
        }

        public override bool is_pure () {
                // accessing property could have side-effects
                return (inner == null || inner.is_pure ()) && !(symbol_reference is Property);
        }

        public override bool is_accessible (Symbol sym) {
                return (inner == null || inner.is_accessible (sym)) && symbol_reference.is_accessible (sym);
        }

        public override void replace_type (DataType old_type, DataType new_type) {
                for (int i = 0; i < type_argument_list.size; i++) {
                        if (type_argument_list[i] == old_type) {
                                type_argument_list[i] = new_type;
                                return;
                        }
                }
        }

        public override bool is_constant () {
                var method = symbol_reference as Method;
                if (symbol_reference is Constant) {
                        return true;
                } else if (symbol_reference is ArrayLengthField && inner != null && inner.symbol_reference is Constant) {
                        // length of constant array
                        return true;
                } else if (method != null &&
                           (method.binding == MemberBinding.STATIC || prototype_access)) {
                        return true;
                } else {
                        return false;
                }
        }

        public override bool is_non_null () {
                var c = symbol_reference as Constant;
                if (c != null) {
                        return (c is EnumValue || !c.type_reference.nullable);
                } else {
                        return false;
                }
        }

        public override bool check (CodeContext context) {
                if (checked) {
                        return !error;
                }

                checked = true;

                if (inner != null) {
                        inner.check (context);
                }

                foreach (DataType type_arg in type_argument_list) {
                        type_arg.check (context);
                }

                Symbol base_symbol = null;
                Parameter this_parameter = null;
                bool may_access_instance_members = false;
                bool may_access_klass_members = false;

                symbol_reference = null;

                if (qualified) {
                        base_symbol = context.root;
                        symbol_reference = base_symbol.scope.lookup (member_name);
                } else if (inner == null) {
                        if (member_name == "this") {
                                if (!context.analyzer.is_in_instance_method ()) {
                                        error = true;
                                        Report.error (source_reference, "This access invalid outside of instance methods");
                                        return false;
                                }
                        }

                        base_symbol = context.analyzer.current_symbol;

                        // track whether method has been found to make sure that access
                        // to instance member is denied from within static lambda expressions
                        bool method_found = false;

                        var sym = context.analyzer.current_symbol;
                        while (sym != null && symbol_reference == null) {
                                if (!method_found) {
                                        if (sym is CreationMethod) {
                                                var cm = (CreationMethod) sym;
                                                this_parameter = cm.this_parameter;
                                                may_access_instance_members = true;
                                                may_access_klass_members = true;
                                                method_found = true;
                                        } else if (sym is Property) {
                                                var prop = (Property) sym;
                                                this_parameter = prop.this_parameter;
                                                may_access_instance_members = (prop.binding == MemberBinding.INSTANCE);
                                                may_access_klass_members = (prop.binding != MemberBinding.STATIC);
                                                method_found = true;
                                        } else if (sym is Constructor) {
                                                var c = (Constructor) sym;
                                                this_parameter = c.this_parameter;
                                                may_access_instance_members = (c.binding == MemberBinding.INSTANCE);
                                                may_access_klass_members = true;
                                                method_found = true;
                                        } else if (sym is Destructor) {
                                                var d = (Destructor) sym;
                                                this_parameter = d.this_parameter;
                                                may_access_instance_members = (d.binding == MemberBinding.INSTANCE);
                                                may_access_klass_members = true;
                                                method_found = true;
                                        } else if (sym is Method) {
                                                var m = (Method) sym;
                                                this_parameter = m.this_parameter;
                                                may_access_instance_members = (m.binding == MemberBinding.INSTANCE);
                                                may_access_klass_members = (m.binding != MemberBinding.STATIC);
                                                method_found = true;
                                        }
                                }

                                symbol_reference = SemanticAnalyzer.symbol_lookup_inherited (sym, member_name);

                                if (symbol_reference == null && sym is TypeSymbol && may_access_instance_members) {
                                        // used for generated to_string methods in enums
                                        symbol_reference = this_parameter.variable_type.get_member (member_name);

                                        if (symbol_reference != null && is_instance_symbol (symbol_reference)) {
                                                // implicit this
                                                inner = new MemberAccess (null, "this", source_reference);
                                                inner.value_type = this_parameter.variable_type.copy ();
                                                inner.value_type.value_owned = false;
                                                inner.symbol_reference = this_parameter;

                                                symbol_reference = inner.value_type.get_member (member_name);
                                        }
                                }

                                if (symbol_reference == null) {
                                        if (sym is TypeSymbol) {
                                                // do not allow instance access to outer classes
                                                this_parameter = null;
                                                may_access_instance_members = false;
                                                may_access_klass_members = false;
                                        }
                                }

                                sym = sym.parent_symbol;
                        }

                        if (symbol_reference == null && source_reference != null) {
                                foreach (UsingDirective ns in source_reference.using_directives) {
                                        var local_sym = ns.namespace_symbol.scope.lookup (member_name);
                                        if (local_sym != null) {
                                                if (symbol_reference != null && symbol_reference != local_sym) {
                                                        error = true;
                                                        Report.error (source_reference, "`%s' is an ambiguous reference between `%s' and `%s'".printf (member_name, symbol_reference.get_full_name (), local_sym.get_full_name ()));
                                                        return false;
                                                }
                                                symbol_reference = local_sym;
                                        }
                                }
                        }
                } else {
                        if (inner.error) {
                                /* if there was an error in the inner expression, skip this check */
                                error = true;
                                return false;
                        }

                        if (inner.value_type is PointerType) {
                                var pointer_type = inner.value_type as PointerType;
                                if (pointer_type != null && pointer_type.base_type is ValueType) {
                                        // transform foo->bar to (*foo).bar
                                        inner = new PointerIndirection (inner, source_reference);
                                        inner.check (context);
                                        pointer_member_access = false;
                                }
                        }

                        if (inner is MemberAccess) {
                                var ma = (MemberAccess) inner;
                                if (ma.prototype_access) {
                                        error = true;
                                        Report.error (source_reference, "Access to instance member `%s' denied".printf (inner.symbol_reference.get_full_name ()));
                                        return false;
                                }
                        }

                        if (inner is MemberAccess || inner is BaseAccess) {
                                base_symbol = inner.symbol_reference;

                                if (symbol_reference == null && (base_symbol is Namespace || base_symbol is TypeSymbol)) {
                                        symbol_reference = base_symbol.scope.lookup (member_name);
                                        if (inner is BaseAccess) {
                                                // inner expression is base access
                                                // access to instance members of the base type possible
                                                may_access_instance_members = true;
                                                may_access_klass_members = true;
                                        }
                                }
                        }

                        if (symbol_reference == null && inner.value_type != null) {
                                if (pointer_member_access) {
                                        symbol_reference = inner.value_type.get_pointer_member (member_name);
                                } else {
                                        if (inner.value_type.data_type != null) {
                                                base_symbol = inner.value_type.data_type;
                                        }
                                        symbol_reference = inner.value_type.get_member (member_name);
                                }
                                if (symbol_reference != null) {
                                        // inner expression is variable, field, or parameter
                                        // access to instance members of the corresponding type possible
                                        may_access_instance_members = true;
                                        may_access_klass_members = true;
                                }
                        }

                        if (symbol_reference == null && inner.value_type != null && inner.value_type.is_dynamic) {
                                // allow late bound members for dynamic types
                                var dynamic_object_type = (ObjectType) inner.value_type;
                                if (parent_node is MethodCall) {
                                        var invoc = (MethodCall) parent_node;
                                        if (invoc.call == this) {
                                                // dynamic method
                                                DataType ret_type;
                                                if (invoc.target_type != null) {
                                                        ret_type = invoc.target_type.copy ();
                                                        ret_type.value_owned = true;
                                                } else if (invoc.parent_node is ExpressionStatement) {
                                                        ret_type = new VoidType ();
                                                } else {
                                                        // expect dynamic object of the same type
                                                        ret_type = inner.value_type.copy ();
                                                }
                                                var m = new DynamicMethod (inner.value_type, member_name, ret_type, source_reference);
                                                m.invocation = invoc;
                                                var err = new ErrorType (null, null);
                                                err.dynamic_error = true;
                                                m.add_error_type (err);
                                                m.access = SymbolAccessibility.PUBLIC;
                                                m.add_parameter (new Parameter.with_ellipsis ());
                                                dynamic_object_type.type_symbol.scope.add (null, m);
                                                symbol_reference = m;
                                        }
                                } else if (parent_node is Assignment) {
                                        var a = (Assignment) parent_node;
                                        if (a.left == this
                                            && (a.operator == AssignmentOperator.ADD
                                                || a.operator == AssignmentOperator.SUB)) {
                                                // dynamic signal
                                                var s = new DynamicSignal (inner.value_type, member_name, new VoidType (), source_reference);
                                                s.handler = a.right;
                                                s.access = SymbolAccessibility.PUBLIC;
                                                dynamic_object_type.type_symbol.scope.add (null, s);
                                                symbol_reference = s;
                                        } else if (a.left == this) {
                                                // dynamic property assignment
                                                var prop = new DynamicProperty (inner.value_type, member_name, source_reference);
                                                prop.access = SymbolAccessibility.PUBLIC;
                                                prop.set_accessor = new PropertyAccessor (false, true, false, null, null, prop.source_reference);
                                                prop.owner = inner.value_type.data_type.scope;
                                                dynamic_object_type.type_symbol.scope.add (null, prop);
                                                symbol_reference = prop;
                                        }
                                } else if (parent_node is MemberAccess && inner is MemberAccess && parent_node.parent_node is MethodCall) {
                                        var ma = (MemberAccess) parent_node;
                                        if (ma.member_name == "connect" || ma.member_name == "connect_after") {
                                                // dynamic signal
                                                var s = new DynamicSignal (inner.value_type, member_name, new VoidType (), source_reference);
                                                var mcall = (MethodCall) parent_node.parent_node;
                                                // the first argument is the handler
                                                if (mcall.get_argument_list().size > 0) {
                                                        s.handler = mcall.get_argument_list()[0];
                                                }
                                                s.access = SymbolAccessibility.PUBLIC;
                                                dynamic_object_type.type_symbol.scope.add (null, s);
                                                symbol_reference = s;
                                        }
                                }
                                if (symbol_reference == null) {
                                        // dynamic property read access
                                        var prop = new DynamicProperty (inner.value_type, member_name, source_reference);
                                        if (target_type != null) {
                                                prop.property_type = target_type;
                                        } else {
                                                // expect dynamic object of the same type
                                                prop.property_type = inner.value_type.copy ();
                                        }
                                        prop.access = SymbolAccessibility.PUBLIC;
                                        prop.get_accessor = new PropertyAccessor (true, false, false, prop.property_type.copy (), null, prop.source_reference);
                                        prop.owner = inner.value_type.data_type.scope;
                                        dynamic_object_type.type_symbol.scope.add (null, prop);
                                        symbol_reference = prop;
                                }
                                if (symbol_reference != null) {
                                        may_access_instance_members = true;
                                        may_access_klass_members = true;
                                }
                        }
                }

                // enum-type inference
                if (symbol_reference == null && target_type != null && target_type.data_type is Enum) {
                        var enum_type = (Enum) target_type.data_type;
                        foreach (var val in enum_type.get_values ()) {
                                if (member_name == val.name) {
                                        symbol_reference = val;
                                        break;
                                }
                        }
                }

                if (symbol_reference == null) {
                        error = true;

                        string base_type_name = "(null)";
                        if (inner != null && inner.value_type != null) {
                                base_type_name = inner.value_type.to_string ();
                        } else if (base_symbol != null) {
                                base_type_name = base_symbol.get_full_name ();
                        }

                        Report.error (source_reference, "The name `%s' does not exist in the context of `%s'".printf (member_name, base_type_name));
                        return false;
                }

                var member = symbol_reference;
                var access = SymbolAccessibility.PUBLIC;
                bool instance = false;
                bool klass = false;
                bool generics = false;

                if (!member.check (context)) {
                        return false;
                }

                if (member is LocalVariable) {
                        var local = (LocalVariable) member;
                        var block = local.parent_symbol as Block;
                        if (block != null && context.analyzer.find_parent_method_or_property_accessor (block) != context.analyzer.current_method_or_property_accessor) {
                                // mark all methods between current method and the captured
                                // block as closures (to support nested closures)
                                Symbol sym = context.analyzer.current_method_or_property_accessor;
                                while (sym != block) {
                                        var method = sym as Method;
                                        if (method != null) {
                                                method.closure = true;
                                                // consider captured variables as used
                                                // as we require captured variables to be initialized
                                                method.add_captured_variable (local);
                                        }
                                        sym = sym.parent_symbol;
                                }

                                local.captured = true;
                                block.captured = true;
                        }
                } else if (member is Parameter) {
                        var param = (Parameter) member;
                        var m = param.parent_symbol as Method;
                        if (m != null && m != context.analyzer.current_method_or_property_accessor && param != m.this_parameter) {
                                // mark all methods between current method and the captured
                                // parameter as closures (to support nested closures)
                                Symbol sym = context.analyzer.current_method_or_property_accessor;
                                while (sym != m) {
                                        var method = sym as Method;
                                        if (method != null) {
                                                method.closure = true;
                                        }
                                        sym = sym.parent_symbol;
                                }

                                param.captured = true;
                                m.body.captured = true;

                                if (param.direction != ParameterDirection.IN) {
                                        error = true;
                                        Report.error (source_reference, "Cannot capture reference or output parameter `%s'".printf (param.get_full_name ()));
                                }
                        } else {
                                var acc = param.parent_symbol.parent_symbol as PropertyAccessor;
                                if (acc != null && acc != context.analyzer.current_method_or_property_accessor && param != acc.prop.this_parameter) {
                                        // mark all methods between current method and the captured
                                        // parameter as closures (to support nested closures)
                                        Symbol sym = context.analyzer.current_method_or_property_accessor;
                                        while (sym != m) {
                                                var method = sym as Method;
                                                if (method != null) {
                                                        method.closure = true;
                                                }
                                                sym = sym.parent_symbol;
                                        }

                                        param.captured = true;
                                        acc.body.captured = true;
                                }
                        }
                } else if (member is Field) {
                        var f = (Field) member;
                        access = f.access;
                        instance = (f.binding == MemberBinding.INSTANCE);
                        klass = (f.binding == MemberBinding.CLASS);

                        // do not allow access to fields of generic types
                        // if instance type does not specify type arguments
                        if (f.variable_type is GenericType) {
                                generics = true;
                        }
                } else if (member is Constant) {
                        var c = (Constant) member;
                        access = c.access;

                        var block = c.parent_symbol as Block;
                        if (block != null && context.analyzer.find_parent_method_or_property_accessor (block) != context.analyzer.current_method_or_property_accessor) {
                                error = true;
                                Report.error (source_reference, "internal error: accessing local constants of outer methods is not supported yet");
                                return false;
                        }
                } else if (member is Method) {
                        var m = (Method) member;
                        if (m.is_async_callback) {
                                // ensure to use right callback method for virtual/abstract async methods
                                // and also for lambda expressions within async methods
                                var async_method = context.analyzer.current_async_method;

                                bool is_valid_access = false;
                                if (async_method != null) {
                                        if (m == async_method.get_callback_method ()) {
                                                is_valid_access = true;
                                        } else if (async_method.base_method != null && m == async_method.base_method.get_callback_method ()) {
                                                is_valid_access = true;
                                        } else if (async_method.base_interface_method != null && m == async_method.base_interface_method.get_callback_method ()) {
                                                is_valid_access = true;
                                        }
                                }
                                if (!is_valid_access) {
                                        error = true;
                                        Report.error (source_reference, "Access to async callback `%s' not allowed in this context".printf (m.get_full_name ()));
                                        return false;
                                }

                                if (async_method != context.analyzer.current_method) {
                                        Symbol sym = context.analyzer.current_method;
                                        while (sym != async_method) {
                                                var method = sym as Method;
                                                if (method != null) {
                                                        method.closure = true;
                                                }
                                                sym = sym.parent_symbol;
                                        }
                                        async_method.body.captured = true;
                                }

                                m = async_method.get_callback_method ();
                                symbol_reference = m;
                                member = symbol_reference;
                        } else if (m.base_method != null) {
                                // refer to base method to inherit default arguments
                                m = m.base_method;

                                if (m.signal_reference != null) {
                                        // method is class/default handler for a signal
                                        // let signal deal with member access
                                        symbol_reference = m.signal_reference;
                                } else {
                                        symbol_reference = m;
                                }

                                member = symbol_reference;
                        } else if (m.base_interface_method != null) {
                                // refer to base method to inherit default arguments
                                m = m.base_interface_method;

                                if (m.signal_reference != null) {
                                        // method is class/default handler for a signal
                                        // let signal deal with member access
                                        symbol_reference = m.signal_reference;
                                } else {
                                        symbol_reference = m;
                                }

                                member = symbol_reference;
                        }
                        access = m.access;
                        if (!(m is CreationMethod)) {
                                instance = (m.binding == MemberBinding.INSTANCE);
                        }
                        klass = (m.binding == MemberBinding.CLASS);

                        // do not allow access to methods using generic type parameters
                        // if instance type does not specify type arguments
                        foreach (var param in m.get_parameters ()) {
                                var generic_type = param.variable_type as GenericType;
                                if (generic_type != null && generic_type.type_parameter.parent_symbol is TypeSymbol) {
                                        generics = true;
                                        break;
                                }
                        }
                        var generic_type = m.return_type as GenericType;
                        if (generic_type != null && generic_type.type_parameter.parent_symbol is TypeSymbol) {
                                generics = true;
                        }
                } else if (member is Property) {
                        var prop = (Property) member;
                        if (!prop.check (context)) {
                                error = true;
                                return false;
                        }
                        if (prop.base_property != null) {
                                // refer to base property
                                prop = prop.base_property;
                                symbol_reference = prop;
                                member = symbol_reference;
                        } else if (prop.base_interface_property != null) {
                                // refer to base property
                                prop = prop.base_interface_property;
                                symbol_reference = prop;
                                member = symbol_reference;
                        }
                        access = prop.access;
                        if (lvalue) {
                                if (prop.set_accessor == null) {
                                        error = true;
                                        Report.error (source_reference, "Property `%s' is read-only".printf (prop.get_full_name ()));
                                        return false;
                                }
                                if (prop.access == SymbolAccessibility.PUBLIC) {
                                        access = prop.set_accessor.access;
                                } else if (prop.access == SymbolAccessibility.PROTECTED
                                           && prop.set_accessor.access != SymbolAccessibility.PUBLIC) {
                                        access = prop.set_accessor.access;
                                }
                        } else {
                                if (prop.get_accessor == null) {
                                        error = true;
                                        Report.error (source_reference, "Property `%s' is write-only".printf (prop.get_full_name ()));
                                        return false;
                                }
                                if (prop.access == SymbolAccessibility.PUBLIC) {
                                        access = prop.get_accessor.access;
                                } else if (prop.access == SymbolAccessibility.PROTECTED
                                           && prop.get_accessor.access != SymbolAccessibility.PUBLIC) {
                                        access = prop.get_accessor.access;
                                }
                        }
                        instance = (prop.binding == MemberBinding.INSTANCE);

                        // do not allow access to properties of generic types
                        // if instance type does not specify type arguments
                        if (prop.property_type is GenericType) {
                                generics = true;
                        }
                } else if (member is Signal) {
                        instance = true;
                        access = member.access;
                }

                member.used = true;
                member.version.check (source_reference);

                if (access == SymbolAccessibility.PROTECTED) {
                        var target_type = (TypeSymbol) member.parent_symbol;

                        bool in_subtype = false;
                        for (Symbol this_symbol = context.analyzer.current_symbol; this_symbol != null; this_symbol = this_symbol.parent_symbol) {
                                if (this_symbol == target_type) {
                                        // required for interfaces with non-abstract methods
                                        // accessing protected interface members
                                        in_subtype = true;
                                        break;
                                }

                                var cl = this_symbol as Class;
                                if (cl != null && cl.is_subtype_of (target_type)) {
                                        in_subtype = true;
                                        break;
                                }
                        }

                        if (!in_subtype) {
                                error = true;
                                Report.error (source_reference, "Access to protected member `%s' denied".printf (member.get_full_name ()));
                                return false;
                        }
                } else if (access == SymbolAccessibility.PRIVATE) {
                        var target_type = member.parent_symbol;

                        bool in_target_type = false;
                        for (Symbol this_symbol = context.analyzer.current_symbol; this_symbol != null; this_symbol = this_symbol.parent_symbol) {
                                if (target_type == this_symbol) {
                                        in_target_type = true;
                                        break;
                                }
                        }

                        if (!in_target_type) {
                                error = true;
                                Report.error (source_reference, "Access to private member `%s' denied".printf (member.get_full_name ()));
                                return false;
                        }
                }

                if (generics && inner != null) {
                        var instance_type = inner.value_type;
                        var pointer_type = inner.value_type as PointerType;
                        if (pointer_type != null) {
                                instance_type = pointer_type.base_type;
                        }

                        // instance type might be a subtype of the parent symbol of the member
                        // that subtype might not be generic, so do not report an error in that case
                        var object_type = instance_type as ObjectType;
                        if (object_type != null && object_type.type_symbol.get_type_parameters ().size > 0 &&
                            instance_type.get_type_arguments ().size == 0) {
                                error = true;
                                Report.error (inner.source_reference, "missing generic type arguments");
                                return false;
                        }
                }

                if ((instance && !may_access_instance_members) ||
                    (klass && !may_access_klass_members)) {
                        prototype_access = true;

                        if (symbol_reference is Method) {
                                // also set static type for prototype access
                                // required when using instance methods as delegates in constants
                                // TODO replace by MethodPrototype
                                value_type = context.analyzer.get_value_type_for_symbol (symbol_reference, lvalue);
                        } else if (symbol_reference is Field) {
                                value_type = new FieldPrototype ((Field) symbol_reference);
                        } else {
                                value_type = new InvalidType ();
                        }

                        if (target_type != null) {
                                value_type.value_owned = target_type.value_owned;
                        }
                } else {
                        // implicit this access
                        if (instance && inner == null) {
                                inner = new MemberAccess (null, "this", source_reference);
                                inner.value_type = this_parameter.variable_type.copy ();
                                inner.value_type.value_owned = false;
                                inner.symbol_reference = this_parameter;
                        } else {
                                check_lvalue_access ();
                        }

                        if (!instance && !klass && !(symbol_reference is CreationMethod) && may_access_instance_members && inner != null) {
                                if (inner.symbol_reference is Method) {
                                        // do not warn when calling .begin or .end on static async method
                                } else {
                                        Report.warning (source_reference, "Access to static member `%s' with an instance reference".printf (symbol_reference.get_full_name ()));
                                }
                        }

                        if (context.experimental_non_null && instance && inner.value_type.nullable &&
                            !(inner.value_type is PointerType) && !(inner.value_type is GenericType) &&
                                !(inner.value_type is ArrayType)) {
                                Report.error (source_reference, "Access to instance member `%s' from nullable reference denied".printf (symbol_reference.get_full_name ()));
                        }

                        var m = symbol_reference as Method;
                        var inner_ma = inner as MemberAccess;
                        if (m != null && m.binding == MemberBinding.STATIC && m.parent_symbol is ObjectTypeSymbol &&
                            inner != null && inner.value_type == null && inner_ma.type_argument_list.size > 0) {
                                // support static methods in generic classes
                                inner.value_type = new ObjectType ((ObjectTypeSymbol) m.parent_symbol);

                                foreach (var type_argument in inner_ma.type_argument_list) {
                                        inner.value_type.add_type_argument (type_argument);
                                }
                        }

                        formal_value_type = context.analyzer.get_value_type_for_symbol (symbol_reference, lvalue);
                        if (inner != null && formal_value_type != null) {
                                value_type = formal_value_type.get_actual_type (inner.value_type, null, this);
                        } else {
                                value_type = formal_value_type;
                        }

                        if (symbol_reference is Method) {
                                var method = (Method) symbol_reference;
                                if (target_type != null) {
                                        value_type.value_owned = target_type.value_owned;
                                }
                                if (instance && method.parent_symbol is TypeSymbol) {
                                        inner.target_type = SemanticAnalyzer.get_data_type_for_symbol (method.parent_symbol);
                                        inner.target_type.value_owned = method.this_parameter.variable_type.value_owned;
                                }
                        } else if (symbol_reference is Property) {
                                var prop = (Property) symbol_reference;
                                if (instance && prop.parent_symbol != null) {
                                        inner.target_type = SemanticAnalyzer.get_data_type_for_symbol (prop.parent_symbol);
                                }
                        } else if ((symbol_reference is Field
                                    || symbol_reference is Signal)
                                   && instance && symbol_reference.parent_symbol != null) {
                                var parent_type = SemanticAnalyzer.get_data_type_for_symbol (symbol_reference.parent_symbol);
                                inner.target_type = parent_type.get_actual_type (inner.value_type, null, this);
                        }
                }

                return !error;
        }

        static bool is_instance_symbol (Symbol symbol) {
                if (symbol is Field && ((Field) symbol).binding == MemberBinding.INSTANCE) {
                        return true;
                } else if (symbol is Method && !(symbol is CreationMethod) && ((Method) symbol).binding == MemberBinding.INSTANCE) {
                        return true;
                } else if (symbol is Property && ((Property) symbol).binding == MemberBinding.INSTANCE) {
                        return true;
                } else if (symbol is Signal) {
                        return true;
                } else {
                        return false;
                }
        }

        public void check_lvalue_access () {
                if (inner == null) {
                        return;
                }
                var instance = symbol_reference is Field && ((Field) symbol_reference).binding == MemberBinding.INSTANCE;
                if (!instance) {
                        instance = symbol_reference is Method && ((Method) symbol_reference).binding == MemberBinding.INSTANCE;
                }
                if (!instance) {
                        instance = symbol_reference is Property && ((Property) symbol_reference).binding == MemberBinding.INSTANCE;
                }

                var this_access = inner.symbol_reference is Parameter && inner.symbol_reference.name == "this";
                var struct_or_array = (inner.value_type is StructValueType && !inner.value_type.nullable) || (CodeContext.get ().profile == Profile.GOBJECT && inner.value_type is ArrayType);

                var ma = inner as MemberAccess;
                if (ma == null && struct_or_array && inner is PointerIndirection) {
                        // (*struct)->method()
                        ma = ((PointerIndirection) inner).inner as MemberAccess;
                }

                if (instance && struct_or_array && (symbol_reference is Method || lvalue) && ((ma != null && ma.symbol_reference is Variable) || inner is ElementAccess) && !this_access) {
                        inner.lvalue = true;
                        if (ma != null) {
                                ma.lvalue = true;
                                ma.check_lvalue_access ();
                        }
                }
        }

        public override void emit (CodeGenerator codegen) {
                if (inner != null) {
                        inner.emit (codegen);
                }

                codegen.visit_member_access (this);

                codegen.visit_expression (this);
        }

        public override void get_defined_variables (Collection<Variable> collection) {
                if (inner != null) {
                        inner.get_defined_variables (collection);
                }
        }

        public override void get_used_variables (Collection<Variable> collection) {
                if (inner != null) {
                        inner.get_used_variables (collection);
                }
                var local = symbol_reference as LocalVariable;
                var param = symbol_reference as Parameter;
                if (local != null) {
                        collection.add (local);
                } else if (param != null && param.direction == ParameterDirection.OUT) {
                        collection.add (param);
                }
        }
}